Oddly Enough

Strangeness from around the globe…

SWEARING BAN PROVES TO BE MONEY-SPINNER MOSCOW – Off-colour language by young Russians is proving a money-spinner for authorities in a southern region.Regional officials near Belgorod, on Russia’s border with Ukraine, introduced a ban on swearing in public in the summer as part of a cleaner-living program for their young folk.They launched a drive against the use of strong language, particularly in front of older people and backed it with spot fines of up to 1,500 roubles (US$50) for offenders.The total collected in two months up to mid-September came to more than 510,000 roubles (US$17,400), regional official Pavel Bespalenko was quoted as saying.FALLING CRUCIFIX KILLS WOMANROME – A 67-year-old woman was killed when a three-meter tall metal crucifix fell on her head in a small southern Italian town on Wednesday, police said.The cross, which has been in the main square on Sant’Onofrio for decades, fell on Maddalena Camillo while workers were setting up lights for an annual religious festival.Italy, home to the Vatican City, is a predominantly Roman Catholic country where crucifixes and religious icons and effigies are a common sight in most towns and villages.BOSS, MAYBE YOU SHOULD USE MY PHONEBERLIN – A German telecommunications company said on Tuesday it is developing the first mobile phone that will alert users when their breath is bad or if they are giving off offensive smells.The phone will use a tiny chip measuring less than one millimetre to detect unpleasant odours, a spokeswoman for Siemens Mobile said.A research team in the southern city of Munich is developing the device using new sensor technology.”It examines the air in the immediate vicinity for anything from bad breath and alcohol to atmospheric gas levels,” the spokeswoman said.”Some people take smelling good rather seriously.”BLACKBERRY PICKER CAUSES RAIL CHAOS BERLIN – Trains on a busy German route were delayed for four hours after a train driver hit the emergency brake fearing a man next to the tracks was trying to kill himself – but he was only picking blackberries.Authorities stopped all trains and closed the track, causing a chain reaction that delayed 11 trains for 4-1/2 hours.Police said on Wednesday the 70-year-old was spotted as he leaned over the track near the western city of Cologne but it turned out he was just trying to reach the best berries.MAN SHOOTS WIFE, MISTAKES HER FOR MONKEYKUALA LUMPUR – A Malaysian man shot and killed his wife after he mistook her for a monkey picking fruit in a tree behind their house, the New Straits Times said on Wednesday.The man, 70, is being held by police for causing death through recklessness after he fired a shotgun at what he thought was a monkey in a mangosteen tree on Monday, the newspaper said.His wife, 68, had used a ladder to climb into the tree and was picking the tropical fruit when she was shot.She was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital, the paper said.The couple lived in central Malaysia and had raised 13 children.- Nampa-ReutersMOSCOW – Off-colour language by young Russians is proving a money-spinner for authorities in a southern region.Regional officials near Belgorod, on Russia’s border with Ukraine, introduced a ban on swearing in public in the summer as part of a cleaner-living program for their young folk.They launched a drive against the use of strong language, particularly in front of older people and backed it with spot fines of up to 1,500 roubles (US$50) for offenders.The total collected in two months up to mid-September came to more than 510,000 roubles (US$17,400), regional official Pavel Bespalenko was quoted as saying.FALLING CRUCIFIX KILLS WOMANROME – A 67-year-old woman was killed when a three-meter tall metal crucifix fell on her head in a small southern Italian town on Wednesday, police said.The cross, which has been in the main square on Sant’Onofrio for decades, fell on Maddalena Camillo while workers were setting up lights for an annual religious festival.Italy, home to the Vatican City, is a predominantly Roman Catholic country where crucifixes and religious icons and effigies are a common sight in most towns and villages.BOSS, MAYBE YOU SHOULD USE MY PHONEBERLIN – A German telecommunications company said on Tuesday it is developing the first mobile phone that will alert users when their breath is bad or if they are giving off offensive smells.The phone will use a tiny chip measuring less than one millimetre to detect unpleasant odours, a spokeswoman for Siemens Mobile said.A research team in the southern city of Munich is developing the device using new sensor technology.”It examines the air in the immediate vicinity for anything from bad breath and alcohol to atmospheric gas levels,” the spokeswoman said.”Some people take smelling good rather seriously.”BLACKBERRY PICKER CAUSES RAIL CHAOS BERLIN – Trains on a busy German route were delayed for four hours after a train driver hit the emergency brake fearing a man next to the tracks was trying to kill himself – but he was only picking blackberries.Authorities stopped all trains and closed the track, causing a chain reaction that delayed 11 trains for 4-1/2 hours.Police said on Wednesday the 70-year-old was spotted as he leaned over the track near the western city of Cologne but it turned out he was just trying to reach the best berries.MAN SHOOTS WIFE, MISTAKES HER FOR MONKEYKUALA LUMPUR – A Malaysian man shot and killed his wife after he mistook her for a monkey picking fruit in a tree behind their house, the New Straits Times said on Wednesday.The man, 70, is being held by police for causing death through recklessness after he fired a shotgun at what he thought was a monkey in a mangosteen tree on Monday, the newspaper said.His wife, 68, had used a ladder to climb into the tree and was picking the tropical fruit when she was shot.She was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital, the paper said.The couple lived in central Malaysia and had raised 13 children.- Nampa-Reuters